1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oiling system for providing lubricating oil to an internal combustion engine.
2. Disclosure Information
During the early automotive age, the designers of oil pans and oil pickups for vehicular internal combustion engines had a relatively straightforward task because little, if any, vehicle hardware intruded upon the envelope of the oil pan. Moreover, oil pumps were frequently mounted above the oil pan sump, so as to simplify the construction of a fabricated pickup tube extending from the bottom of the sump to the oil pump inlet. With the intervention of time, however, modern design requirements have resulted in oil pans which are very large, with some having deep sumps, and with others being subject to the intrusion of structural cross members or suspension components such as tie rods or steering racks. This has resulted in such oddities as oil pans having multiple sumps, with each having its own drain plug. And, the problems of designing oil pickup tubes have multiplied. Another problem inherent with conventional oil pickup tubes is that entrained air tends to get trapped under the tube""s inlet, causing increased aeration of the oil.
An oiling system according to the present invention solves problems inherent in conventional oil pan and pickup combinations by providing an integral pickup. This confers a functional advantage because fewer openings are required in the oil pan""s baffle or windage tray, so as to further reduce aeration. Moreover, by providing an oil pickup which exits from the bottom of the pan, the oiling system is less prone to problems arising from handling maneuvers.
Although U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,193 discloses an oil pan having a pickup on the bottom, the integral oil tube shown in the ""193 patent is entirely within the oil pan and does not present the packaging advantages and inherent design flexibility that result with the present inventive oiling system.
An oiling system for an internal combustion engine includes a cylinder block, an oil pump driven by the engine and having a pump inlet, and a cover for enclosing a lower part of the cylinder block. The cover has at least one oil outlet. An oil pickup includes a first pickup portion located outside the cover and in fluid communication with the oil outlet. A second pickup portion has a first segment extending from the pump inlet through a wall of the cover and a second segment extending from the exterior surface of the cover into the interior of the cover. The oil pickup further includes third portion located inside the cover with the third pickup portion extending between the first pickup portion and the second segment of the second pickup portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an oil pickup is preferably integrally formed with the engine cover either by casting from metal, or molding from resin. Alternatively, other metallic or non-metallic materials known to those skilled in the art and suggested by this disclosure may be employed for the purpose of practicing the present invention.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an oil pump inlet used in the present oiling system comprises a spud attached to the oil pump, with the spud or inlet being received by an annular seal comprising a part of the second pickup portion. This generally annularly seal preferably comprises a lip seal having a circumferential tension spring for maintaining sealing contact between the seal and the first segment of the second pickup portion.
It is an advantage of the present invention that a wide variety of engine oil pans or oil system covers may be utilized with a single oil pump configuration, because the oil pickup is integrated with the oil pan itself, as opposed to being a bolted on or pressed-in fabricated tube assembly.
It is a further advantage of the present oiling system that a wide variety of engine oil sump or oil system cover geometries may be accommodated so as to permit installation of various alternative componentry such as suspension components, exhaust pipes, and steering drag links and tierods. This may be done without altering the oil passages in the engine block.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the present oiling system provides superior performance during extreme handling maneuvers and/or uneven ground conditions which would tend to defeat other types of lubricant collection systems.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the present pickup tube system is immune from problems caused by the separation of conventional fabricated pickup tubes from the oil pump inlet to which the tube is mounted, with corresponding catastrophic engine failure. This situation is sometimes encountered during competition use of motor vehicle engines.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that the present pickup tube system eliminates the need for the separate fasteners which are normally used to retain a fabricating oil pickup. The failure modes associated with such fasteners are also eliminated.
It is a further advantage of the present invention that serviceability of an engine is improved because the oil pan or cover will be more easily removed than would be the case with known oil pickup systems, because the oil pan or lower cover may be removed in a single step, without the necessity of removing the pickup as an intermediate step.
Other advantages, as well as objects and features of the present invention, will become apparent to the reader of this specification.